Children in a lesson at Christchurch Church of England school in central London. Photograph: Martin Godwin for the Guardian

There's a myth around that faith schools are divisive. Rarely is any evidence of such divisiveness presented. It almost seems to derive from an ideological prejudice that they are because they must be. The assumption that underpins such a view is that "faith" is somehow negatively loaded, whereas "non-faith" or "secular" is somehow neutral and, therefore, to be trusted.

It seems to me that there are several problems here (apart from the all too common myth of neutrality), but let's start with the question of language.

A church school is not a faith school. I could possibly find some sympathy for opponents of faith schools on the grounds that they might tend to segregate one community from others, creating what has been termed "parallel lives". Of course, even this ignores the fact that people mix beyond their immediate communities in social and sporting contexts (to name but a couple). Faith schools are by definition confessional in foundation and ethos; but this does not mean that in and of themselves they must therefore inevitably be divisive.

A church school – in the way the Church of England understands it – is not confessional. Church of England schools are established primarily for the communities they are located in. They are inclusive and serve equally those who are of the Christian faith, of other faiths and of no faith. Their Christian ethos is underpinned by Christian values concerned for the wellbeing of all in the community, irrespective of religious, cultural or socio-economic background. Rooted in an understanding that we "love God and love our neighbour as ourself", they seek to offer the highest quality of education and care for all pupils – reflecting both the teaching of the Gospel and the mission of the Church of England to serve the whole community.

The facts? Try these for starters.

An increasing number of schools in Bradford are becoming mono-ethnic and monoreligious. However, this is not a result of the presence of church schools (which in Bradford reflect the makeup of their local community), but rather to do with the demographics of the city. In inner-city Bradford, Church of England schools are some of the relatively few that are multireligious and multi-ethnic. They serve areas of multiple deprivation and many schools have a majority of pupils of non-white British heritage.

Bradford diocese has three church primary schools with more than 90% children of non-white British heritage: one in Keighley has more than 90% of pupils who are Muslim of mainly Pakistani heritage; the other two each have 90% of pupils of non-white British heritage. Eight church schools in the diocese have more than 75% of children of non-white British heritage and of these the majority are Muslim of Pakistani heritage. Twelve schools have a 50:50 mix of pupils. Several schools have significant numbers of eastern European families.

Church of England schools that have a majority of children of Pakistani heritage minimise the risk of isolating those communities for whom religious beliefs and practices are core parts of their identity and behaviour. Church schools take all faiths seriously, encouraging dialogue and seeking common ground – as well as understanding and respecting difference. Clearly, in Bradford it is very important that people develop religious literacy if they are to live together well; church schools give space for confident learning, exploration and conversation about religious diversity.

Church schools are confident in their identity and clear about their distinctive values. Rather than dividing, this grounds their engagement with others. Such schools seek to model how faith and belief can be explored and expressed in ways that bring communities together rather than driving them apart. As the archbishop of Canterbury observed: "The often forgotten fact that church schools are the main educational presences in some of our most deprived communities means that it simply cannot be said that these schools somehow have a policy of sanitising or segregating."

He went on to say: "Church schools are among the relatively few public institutions generally regarded with trust by minority religious communities. In our present context, an education system which conveys some sense of what religious motivation is actually like is more helpful in avoiding communal suspicion or violence – avoiding 'ghettoisation' – than one which rigorously refuses to engage with any religious practice on its own terms."

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